Clutch-controlling mechanism



Aprl 13 1926. 1,580,923 -f J. N. sELvlG 'cLu'rcn conrnoLmue nscrumrsuFiled March 15, 1924 3 sheets-sheet 1 April 13 192e. 1,580,923

J. N. SELVIG CLUTCH conTRoLLING ncmwrsn Filed March 15, 1924 ssheets-sheet a.

l f" l g` Y, ff" l l l l I l l gg N Patented pr. 13, 1926.

UNITEDl STATES JOHN NILSEN SELVIG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR TOWESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,.A.CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

v CLUlCII-CON"IROLLINGv MECHANISM.

Application filed March 15, 1924. Serial No. 699,509.

To all wir-0m' it may concern: i

Be it known that I, JOHN NrLsnN Sanvic, a subject of the King of Norway,residing at Chicago, in the county. of Cook and Sta-te of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutch-ControllingMechanisms, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to in'iprovements in clutch controlling mechanismand more particularly to mechanisms for automatically engaging themembers of a clutch.

An object ofthe invention is to provide an improved mechanism forautomatically engaging the members of a clutch.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for engagingthe members of a clutch so that successive engagements thereof willbeuniform and similar in character. l

. A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism which willexpeditiously take up all lost motion between the clutch members and thecontrol mechanism, and thereafter impart to the members graduallyincreasing engaging pressures until a maximum positive -drive iseffected.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanismwherein the' engagement of the clutch members may be controlled eithermanually or automatically.

In accordance with the general features of this invention there isprovided a driven member movable into engagement with a Y driving memberby anoperatinglever, the

movementimparted to the driven member being in turn transmitted to anlelastic leverage system'. The first part of this movement functions toquickly take up all lost motion between the parts ofthe controlmechanism and to bring the -driven and driv- 1 ing members of the clutchinto contact while the latter part of the movement functions `toautomatically engage the members of the clutch withgradually increasingpressures. At the end of a predeterminedk movement of the driven memberit is disengaged from` the driving member and the members-of the clutchare retained in maximum driving engagement. Upon a release of theoperating lever the control mechanism and clutch members areexpeditiously returned to their normal positions. A manually controlledmechanism is also provided for engaging the members of the clutch.

rIhe accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment `of the inventionapplied to a wire drawing machine in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side view partly in section of a wire drawingmachine embodying features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the clutchcontrolling mechanism forming they subject of the invention shown in itsnormal position; v

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views sho-wing the parts inthe act of causingthe engagement of the clutch which it controls and at the end of anoperation, respectively;l

Fig. 5 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3 lookingin the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the-capstan of a wiredrawing machine showing in detail the clutch mechanism for connecting itto and disconnecting it from the driving elements of the machine.

In the drawings a plural faced capstan is indicated at 10 which isadapted to be connected to and disconnected from a driving shaft 11 inthe form of a sleeve (F ig. 6) by a clutch mechanism 12, theclutchbeingillustrated in its operated position. The shaft 11 is rotatably mountedwithin suitable anti-friction bearings 13 supported by a bracket 33carried by the rear wall 20 of' a compartment 21. The other end of theshaft 11 is supported by an axial anti-frction bearing 27 supported by asleeve l28 concentric with the shaft 11, the said Vsleeve beingrotatably mounted on an Vexternal anti-friction bearing 80 carried by abracket y35 also secured to the rear wall 20`-of the compartment 21.The'sleeve 28 is alsosupported on aninternal anti-friction bearingvmeshes with a bevel gear 55 (shown in dotted outlines), splined toashaft 56 rotatably mounted within suitable bearings (not shown) securedto the framework of the machine land driven by a motor or other suitablemeans (not shown). The clutch mechanism 12 comprises an annular memberV15 secured to the inner end of the driving sleeve 11, the said memberhaving secured thereto by means of a ypin 16 a plurality of the drivingksleeve 11.

clutch disks 17. Alternately ino-unted between theclutch disks 17 arevclutch' disks 18 which are secured by a pin 19 to the inner peripheralwall of a cup shaped opening 22 made in the capstan 10.- The disks 17and 18 are movable longitudinally on the pins 16 and 19 respectively,and when pressure is exerted to force the disks together they form adriving connection betweenrthe capstan 10 and the driving sleeve 11 asmay be readily understood;

The means for exerting pressure upon the.

disks 17 and 18 comprises a plate 23 which engages the outermost disk,and when the plate is moved toward the right s (Fig. 6) into theposition shown, serves to exert sutficient pressure upon the disks tocause them to rot-ate together. Thedisk 23 is fastened to one end of ashaft 24 mounted within the driving sleeve 11.` A transverse pin 25 issecured in the shaft 24 and` projects through diainetricallyopposite.,longitudinal slots 26 formed in the driving sleeve 11 and intoopenings 29 formed in a sleeve 30rotatable on axial bearings 31 carriedby a housing 32. The housing 32 is Asplined tothe bracket 33 by a key 34which prevents the housing from turning, but permits a longitudinalVmovement thereof, relative to the driving sleeve 11. Through the mediumof the pin 25 and slots 26 theV shaft 24 and housing 32v are movabletogether longitudinally ot Secured to thesides of the housing 32 atdiainetrically opposite points are pinsy 36 which receive the bifurcatedends of a fork member 37 which is pivoted at 38 to a. link 39. The linkhas securedto its free end a pin 40 which iits within a slot formed inthe upperend of a vertically reciprocable rod 43. The lower end of therod 43 is connected by a link 44 with .one end of a lever 45 which ispivoted .at 46 to a bracket 47 .l carriedby the framework ofV the wiredrawing machine. The other end of the lever 45 kis. connected throughthe medium of a clutch controlling mechanism 50 to a Lt'ootpedalr 51.

The clutchcontrolling mechanism 50 is housed within a casing 52 securedto the` lframe of the wire drawing machine and passing horizontallytherethrough (see Fig. 5) is a driving shaft 53 which is constantlydriven at a suitable speed from the main driving element of the wiredrawing ma.- chine through suitable gearing (not shown). Passingvertically through .the casing is a rod 54 connectedy at its upper endto the lever 45 through a suitable swivel connection indicatedat57, thelower end ofthe rodihaving a sliding lit in a. tubular member 58, whichis pivotally connected at its lower end to the short end of the tootpedal 51. The rod 54 is provided with an enlarged portion, indicated at59 upon which is slidablymounted within the casing 52, a

sleeve 60 which is rectangular in cross section as indicated in Fig. 5.Encircling the rod 54 between the upper end of the sleeve 60 and a cupshaped adjusting nut 61 screw Vthreaded upon the upper und ofthe rod 54upon the pin 64by a collar 70 suitably *se-v cured to the pin 64. Formedupon the shaft 53 in line with the gear teeth upon the rack bar 63 is agear 71. Pivotally supported upon the frame of the machine by a pin 7 2is van Ioperating lever 73 equipped with avtrip 'linger indicated at '75. The trip finger 75 cooperates witha toothed plate k7 6 Vto hold theoperating lever 73 in its operated position as clearly shown in lFigs. 3and 4 afterbeing moved from `its normal position as shown in Fig.v2.Integral with the pivotal end of the lever 73 is apawl 77 the engaging`end thereof adapted to enter a notch 78 formed in therack bar 63 whenthe mechanism has been operated to engage the clutch as shown in Fig. 4.Secured to the rack` bar 63 at a point below the notch 78 is a tensionspring 81 the opposite end of the spring being securedV to the frame ofAthe machine. Mounted upon the sleeve 60 is a pin 82 which projects intoa suitably shaped slot 83 formed in the rack bar 63.- The function ofthe pin 82 and slot 83 is to limit the movement of the rack bar 63 aboutthe pivot pin 64 in either direction as clearlyv shown in Figs. 3 and 4.n A

It will bevapparent that by varying the speed of the shaftl 53 andthecompression oi'ithe spring 62 the time within which the clutch disks17 and 18 are pressed .into a position where a maximum positive ,driveis eiiiected, after the locking of the lever .7 3 in its upper positionasindicated in Fig. 3er in other words the engagement of the clutch maybe madein a predetermined interval of time. I

The operation of this mechanism is-v as follows:`

In wire drawing machines, rd-uring the threading and Stringing of thewire through the dies and the wrapping thereof' around l the capstans,it is'essential tothe eiiicient operation of the machine that anoperator have his hands free to manipulate the wire.

Durin g the threading and Stringing oper-a5 tion it is necessary` thatthe clutch 12,be engaged and disengaged in close succession.,V

and to facilitate the engagementl and disengagement of the clutch atthis' time the operator uses the foot pedal. 51 which upon beingdepressed from the position ,shoiwn in Fig-1' raises the member-58 andconsequentlythe rod 54 is raised due to the lower end thereof resting onthe bottom of the bore in the member 58 as shown in Fig. 1.x..

Upon a movement upwardly 'of the rod 54 through the medium-of the lever45 and link 44, the rod 43 is moved downwardly as viewed inFig. 1. `Asthe rod 43 `moves downwardly the housing 32 is moved to the right asviewedin Fig. 6 longitudinally of the shaft 11 through-the medium of thelink 39 and the .forked member 37. The housing 32icarries with it theshaft 24 through the medium of the pin 25 causing the plate 23 carriedvby `the shaft to exert sufficient pressure on thedisks 17 and 18 tocause them to form a driving connection between the driving sleeve 11and capsta-n 10-as shown in Fig. 46. The operator upon releasing thefootJ treadle 51 upon the completion of the threading and VStringingoperation allows the parts to return to their normal position as shown"in Figs.- 1 and 2 which movement is ede'cted by the energy stored in acompression spring 84 (Fig. 6) whichhas one of its ends in engagementwith the shaft 24 Y and'its other endagainst a plug 85 screwed withinthe end 'of the driving sleeve 11.

Upon completion of the threading and Stringing operation the machine isprepared to draw the wirev through the drawing dies (not shown). Inengaging theclutch 12 to operate the capstan 10, it is desirable thatthe clutch be engagedin a minimum amount of time and at graduallyincreasing pressures, until' a maximum speed is obtained without anydeleterious shocks or strains being imparted to the wire which wouldtend to weaken it or cause itV to break. To engage the clutch by meansof the automatic clutch cont-rolling mechanism 50, the operating lever73 is moved upwardly about its pivot 72, from its normal position shownin Fig. 2 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, whereupon it is heldby the trip finger engaging the plate 76.

In the normal position of the mechanism 50 as viewed in Fig. 2, it willbe observed that the roller 69 rests against the top of the operatinglever 73 with the pawl 77 spaced apart from the rack bar 63. In theupward movement of the operating lever 73 the rack bar 63 is raised, andwith it the sleeve 60 due to the pin 64, which carries the roller 69passing through the bosses 65 and 66 formed upon the bar 63 and sleeve60y respectively. As the sleeve 60` is moved upwardly the spring 62 iscompressed slightly against the inside of the adjusting nut 61 screwthreaded upon the rod 54, thereby causing the rod 54 to be raised andthrough the lever 45 and link 44, the rod 43 will be moved downwardlytopress the clutch disks 17 and 18 into contact ready to be pressed.into a gripping engagement. During this movement the pawl 77 carried by,the lever 7 3 is moved into engagement with` the rack barv 63, therebycausing the teeth on the rack to mesh with the revolving gea-r 71. Thispo-- sition of the parts is clearly shown in Fig. 3. Upon the meshing ofthe rack bar 63 'and' gear-71` the bar 63 ywill be moved slowly upwardand throughthe pin 64 in thema-nner before described, the sleeve 60 isalso raised.V Thus the spring 62 is further gradually compressed againstthe inside of the adjusting nut 61, thereby raising the rod 54 andin themfanner before described a gradually increasing pressure is transmittedto the clutch disks, whereby a driving connection is formed betweenthedriving sleeve 11 and the capstan 10, without deleterious shocks orstrains being imparted to the wire. As the spring 62 isgraduallycompressed thelpressure upon the `plate 23 is increased inadirection to the right as viewed in Fig.

6 -at `a predetermined rate. As the pressure r between the disks isincreased the speed of.

rotation of the driven clutch disks is of course increased and therebythe speed of rotation of thev capstan 10. The upward movement of thelrack bar will continue until the notch 78 formed therein aligns with theend of the pawl 77, whereupon due to the In this position of the parts,theclutchl I will continue to be engaged until the operator trips thefinger 75 from the plate 76, whereupon due to the action of the spring84 of the clutch and to the action of gravity the parts will be restoredto their normal position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The 4housing 32 of the clutch mechanism 12 in moving toward the leftwhen the clutch is disengaged, as hereinbefore described, engages abrake member 67 carried thereby against the adjacent surface of anannular member 68 secured to the capstan and serves to stop the rotationthereof.

l/Vhatis claimed is:

1. In a mechanism for controlling a clutch, a driving member, a drivenmember pivotally and reciprocally mounted, saidr members havingcooperating surfaces adapted to form a driving connection there-y drivenmember to effect an engagement; thereof with' the driving member, anelastic A leverage system cooperatingwith the driven member upon a 'nlongitudinal*` movementV -thereof to impart to the clutch membersgradually increasing engaging pressures and means associated with thedriven member for causing a disengagement of the driving and drivenmembers when the desired pressure between the clutch members' isattained.`

` 3. In a` mechanism forv lcontrolling clutch, a driving member, areciprocally mounted 'driven member, said members'hav thereof to effectthey engagementvof the clutch, meansforactuating l said driven member toeffect an engagement thereof with the Vdriving member, said lmeansadaptedupon a. movement thereof from its inoperative position to itsoperative posi` tionvto cause saidelastic leveragesystem-toI lirstV takeup all lost motionfbetween the parts ofthe control mechanism and theclutch members and thereafter to impart to the clutch members graduallyincreasing en-v gaging pressures at a predetermined rate ofv speed.

4. Infa mechanism for controlling clutch, a` driving gear, a pivotallyand reciprocally mounted gear rack adapted to ybe with said' drivinggear to effect a longitudinal movement of said gear rack, means for'moving said gear rack .about its pivot, a reciprocally mounted sleeveadapted to be moved by said geary rack in its longitudinal movement, andan velastic leverage system associated with said sleeve and adapted upona longitudinal movement thereof to impart to the clutch membersygradually i11- creasing engaging pressures. v

5.- In a. mechanism for controlling a. clutch, a driving member, apivotally and reciprocally mounted driven adapted to be moved about itspivot and into engagement with said driving member, said members havingcooperating surfaces adapted to form a driving connection therebetween,means for moving the driven member about its pivot to engage the drivingmember, whereupon a longitudinal movement is imparted to the drivenmember, said driven member pivotally` supported-upon a reciprocallymounted sleeve, a leverage system between the sleeve and theclutchrmembers, and a compression spring interposed between the sleeveand 'leverage system;to4

impart to the clutch members gradually increasing engagingpressures'upon a longitudinal movement of the driven member.`

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe. this 28th day of February A.D.,

member

